County Courthouse

County Clerk Recorder has birth, marriage and death from 1873 and land records from 1850Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1873 Some land went to Kern & Los Angeles Counties in boundary change[1]

Historical Facts

Mission San Buenaventura, one of the original 21 Roman Catholic missions in Alta California was founded in what is now downtown Ventura city in 1782 although it had a long rocky history including fires, earthquakes, tsunami and pirates, among other difficulties. The mission fathers kept the original vital records.

The costal plains and inland valleys are mostly devoted to agriculture even today but the costal mountains also cover a considerable part of the county. El Camino Real, the original roadway connecting the early missions, crosses the county. In the late 1800s the railroads came and in the 1900s US-101 followed essentially the Camino Real route heading north to Santa Barbara. Settlements mainly grew up along these routes.

Cities

Neighboring Counties

Resources

Bible Records

Biography

Cemeteries

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley Has only one burial, that of Ronald Reagan, former Governor of California and former President of the United States. For the headstone, click on the 'Images' tab below the Google map, then click on the thumbnail for the image itself to view the grave and the inscriptions.

Maps

Migration

Military History and Records

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Obituaries

Periodicals

Probate Records

Repositories

Archives, Libraries and Museums

Scandinavian Center. Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation at California Lutheran University. Large oral history recordings collection; many early works about Scandinavian churches in Midwest United States. See library catalog at CLU.

Ventura County Museum of History and Art The museum is currently closed for renovation, though a temporary exhibit space and gift shop are open on California St. The Librarian is available to answer question by phone. Once the museum is reopened the Library is an excellent research resource.